"Tattoo parlours are synonymous with outlaw motorcycle gangs," he said.

In an effort to crack down on bikie-related crime, the NSW Government recently introduced mandatory licensing laws for tattoo operators and artists.

From October 1, police will have sweeping new powers to raid tattoo parlours and search for firearms, drugs and explosives.

Det Supt Katsogiannis says bikies in the tattoo business are on borrowed time.

"It's about breaking the stranglehold that outlaw motorcycle gangs have over the industry," he said.

The new laws require everyone in the tattoo industry to provide detailed information about their personal associations and criminal history.

"We will know who's operating the business, we will know who are the tattooists working from the business, we will have access to their books and records which will allow us to record the number of tattoos, the age of individuals getting the tattoos, we will have powers to enter tattoo parlours and look at those records," Det Supt Katsogiannis said.

Bikies fight back against new laws

The crackdown comes as outlaw club membership numbers around Australia are growing.

In NSW alone there are more than 2,000 members, prospects and nominees of outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Police there say both nationally and internationally, recruitment and expansion is growing at a large rate.

Bikies have already used the courts to overturn anti-association legislation in New South Wales and South Australia, and they are engaged in a similar battle in Queensland.

Now, with just weeks left before the new licensing system comes into effect, they have vowed to take on the Tattoo Parlours Act in New South Wales.

Barrister Wayne Baffsky, who represents a group of outlaw motorcycle clubs, says there are legal grounds to challenge the law.

"If the reason a person is refused a licence is solely because they're a member of a club or they have an association with someone who's a member of a club, then I expect we'll be taking that to the Supreme Court," he said.

Outlaw clubs claim unfair treatment

Outlaw motorcycle clubs insist they are being targeted unfairly. They claim club membership does not equate to criminality.

Frank Perram, a long-time and proud member of the notorious outlaw club Finks, says he is not trying to hide anything.

"I've made no secret of the fact ... when I spoke to the Department of Fair Trading last week I brought it up with them that I'm a member of a club," he said.

Mr Perram owns two tattoo studios on Sydney's northern beaches, has an Order of Australia Medal for his charity work, and has no criminal record.

It is a great opportunity for them to clean some of their money and turn dirty money through private companies.

Gold Coast MP Ray Stevens

He applied for his licence more than six months ago and says he has not got it yet.

"I can guess (why), but I can't answer that ... and I don't want to guess," he said.

Law enforcers around the country are watching closely what is happening in New South Wales.

On Queensland's Gold Coast, MP Ray Stevens is pushing for a similar crackdown. He says in his electorate, tattoo parlours are a front for money laundering.

"It is a great opportunity for them to clean some of their money and turn dirty money through private companies, pay the tax, and then it becomes clean and they can invest that in legitimate businesses," he said.

"And by having the tattoo parlours opening, they can put some of the income derived from those illegal practices and declare it as income through the tattoo parlour which then legitimises that particular income ... when in fact, it's come from criminal means," he said.

Caught in the crosshairs

Tony Cohen is a legend of Sydney's tattoo scene and is the grizzled face behind The Illustrated Man. He has been in the business for 40 years and says he has seen turf wars between rival outlaw clubs and tattoo parlours as long as he can remember.

"There's always been tattoo wars for years and years and years and now it's escalating," he said.

"Beating each other up, annoying people and trying to get people out of business because they've opened up next door."

There's always been tattoo wars for years and years and years and now it's escalating.

Tattoo parlour owner Tony Cohen

Mr Cohen says the new laws will just push the industry underground. He says he has learnt that to stay in the game, you keep your head down.

"I don't associate with other tattoo shops. This is a family business. We keep to ourselves. It's a tough industry and always has been," he said.

Arson attacks at a tattoo parlour just a few kilometres from Mr Cohen's studio show how tough that industry can be.

In April last year, the former head of the Nomads Motorcycle Club went to jail for a brazen attack on a police van parked outside his own tattoo studio, Skin Deep.

Months later, security cameras inside that same studio showed an intruder smashing through the window, spreading an accelerant and setting fire to the studio.

Det Supt Katsogiannis says, inevitably, police investigating crimes like this come up against a wall of silence.

"The victims do not want to make any formal statements to police for fear of retribution from these outlaw motorcycle gangs ... or organised criminal networks," he said.